You could say Orlando Magic fans were expecting some type of fight Friday night against the Brooklyn Nets, especially after losing back-to-back road games against Chicago and Minnesota. But it clearly didn't end that way after the Magic submitted themselves to a 39-point deficit.
Head coach Jacque Vaughn kept his answers relatively short after witnessing the Nets thrash his team possession-by-possession.
"Getting stops helps." Vaughn said in his post-game press conference. "It can't be to the point where we are letting offense dictate the entire game. You can play defense every single possession. It doesn't guarantee that the ball is going to go in but it is a lot harder to score when we have to take it out and their defense is set. It is a two-way street. We need to defend."
Shooting guard Arron Afflalo agreed with Vaughn's assessment:
"We've got a lot to work on defensively, being the main issue. But the good thing is that we play that same team on Sunday. So I think it will be a great chance for us to see if we can truly learn from tonight. The opportunity for Sunday, to play that exact same team on their floor I think will be a great thing for us. Hopefully we grow from tonight."
But offensively the Magic weren't doing well either.
"You have to be committed to execution." Vaughn said. "Not every other play, not every fourth play, but every single play. You have to cut hard every single play. You have to screen every single play for us to have success. And when we are not committed, it shows. It is pretty simple."
Rookie forward Andrew Nicholson knows the team can do better this Sunday when Orlando plays the Nets again.
"It's another opportunity." Nicholson said. "We didn't do our best tonight, but we'll come in tomorrow and fine tune a few things and play on Sunday."